Ultrasonic energy is used in a variety of industrial and scientific areas to disrupt or otherwise break apart particulate material ranging from sewage to microorganisms such as viruses or bacteria. The manner in which ultrasonic energy or ultrasound disrupts solid materials has been described as the propagation of an ultrasonic sound wave in a medium which causes pressure changes within the medium. These pressure changes can be as great as 20,000 atmospheres and particulate material in the medium that is unable to withstand the pressure changes is disrupted.
"Sonicators" are devices which are used to disrupt particulate material using ultrasonic waves. Sonicators generally can be categorized into three categories. First, "immersion" sonicators typically involve dipping a vibrating probe which emits ultrasonic waves into a liquid sample. U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,474 describes an immersion type sonicator.
Second, "bath" sonicators generally comprise a container that vibrates and any liquid in the container is subject to ultra-sonic waves produced by the vibrating container. Typically, the container is filled with water and a sample contained in a second container is placed in the water. Accordingly, any solids in the sample container are subjected to ultrasonic energy. A bath type sonicator is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,137.
Last, "direct" sonicators apply ultrasonic energy directly to a vessel containing a sample. If present, particulate material present in the sample is subjected to ultrasonic energy. A direct sonicator is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,523.